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Comparison Study Between Math Test Scores for Brick and Mortar And COMPARISON STUDY BETWEEN MATH TEST SCORES FOR BRICK AND MORTAR AND ONLINE CLASSROOMS by Marisa May Liberty University A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for EDUC990 Doctor of Education Liberty University 2020 2 COMPARISON STUDY BETWEEN MATH TEST SCORES FOR BRICK AND MORTAR AND ONLINE CLASSROOMS by Marisa May Liberty University A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for EDUC990 Doctor of Education Liberty University 2019 APPROVED BY: Sarah Hutter, EdD, Committee Chair Scott B. Watson, PhD, Committee Member Michael Brom, EdD, Committee Member 3 ABSTRACT With the emergence of online education, opportunities have risen for students who seek alternatives to attending a traditional school. However, the rise of virtual education has highlighted the challenges educators and students face in this environment such as academic integrity and quality control. In both learning environments, students often struggle to grasp mathematical concepts despite resources that are intended to aid learners in understanding abstract concepts. With an emphasis on state testing, educators are faced with the challenge to improve both math learning and performance on math standardized tests given at the state level. This study aimed to answer whether there is a difference between the performance of students on math state tests when comparing students who attended a traditional classroom versus those who attended a fully online classroom. Furthermore, this study aimed to identify whether there is a difference between the performance of male and female students on math state standardized tests between students in a brick and mortar classroom and those in an online learning environment. The study used a causal-comparative design of quantitative data with participants drawn from a convenience sample of ninth grade students who attended a virtual public high school in Texas during the 2017–2018 school year. Descriptive statistics were compiled and analyzed. An independent samples t-test was used to determine that a significantly significant difference exists between the performance of students who attended a virtual high school and those who attended a traditional school. Furthermore, a significant difference was also found in the performance of male and female students on a math state test after attending a virtual high school when compared with their peers in a traditional high school. Keywords: traditional school, state testing, student performance, virtual school 4 Dedication This paper is dedicated to my family. First, to my husband, Chris, who rode the roller coaster of emotions with me through this entire process. Your wisdom and discernment are invaluable to our family and especially me. I appreciate the way you lead our family to a deeper walk with the Lord. To my children, you are my world. To my daughter, Kendall, thank you for your patience with me and your encouragement to do the right thing simply because it is the right thing. To Alyssa, I appreciate your consistent encouragement to finish the task. By putting in hard work each day, we really can reach the finish line. To Bethany, I appreciate your tenderness to the Lord and the reminder that God is our Defender. To my sons, Collin and Caleb, thank you for always understanding when I had to spend time with this paper. 5 Acknowledgements I would never have been able to finish this paper without the help of so many people. I would like to first thank my family for your support and encouragement throughout the process. Thank you for believing in me even when I did not believe in myself. I thank Dr. Sarah Hutter, Committee Chair, for her recommendations. To Dr. Michael Brom, thank you for your direction in refining my draft to become the final product. To my colleagues, Dr. Deborah Carruthers and Dr. Susie Johnson, thank you for your insight and encouragement. I also thank Dr. Scott Watson for his review and suggestions. 6 Table of Contents ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................... 3 Dedication ……………………………………….………………………………………………. 4 Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………...……. 5 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................8 Overview................................................................................................................................... 8 Background............................................................................................................................... 8 Problem Statement.................................................................................................................. 11 Purpose Statement................................................................................................................... 12 Significance of the Study........................................................................................................ 12 Research Questions................................................................................................................. 13 Definitions............................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................15 Overview................................................................................................................................. 15 Theoretical Framework........................................................................................................... 17 Related Literature ................................................................................................................... 18 The Evolution of Online Education ....................................................................................... 20 Standardized Testing............................................................................................................... 29 Virtual Schools and K-12 Education ..................................................................................... 37 Virtual School as a Learning Program.................................................................................... 40 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 45 CHAPTER THREE: METHODS................................................................................................. 47 7 Overview................................................................................................................................. 47 Design .................................................................................................................................... 47 Research Questions................................................................................................................. 47 Hypotheses.............................................................................................................................. 48 Participants and Setting........................................................................................................... 49 Instrumentation ...................................................................................................................... 50 Procedures............................................................................................................................... 51 Data Analysis.......................................................................................................................... 51 CHAPTER FOUR: FINDINGS………..…..…………………………………………………… 53 Overview ………………………………………………………………..…………..……… 53 Research Questions…...….………………………………...……………………………….. 53 Null Hypotheses ……..………………...…………………………………………………… 54 Descriptive Statistics …………………………………………………………..…………… 54 Assumption Testing ……………………………………………………………...………… 57 Results ……………………………………………………………………………………… 59 Summary …...………………………………………………………………………………. 63 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………..……65 Overview ………………………………………………………………………...…………. 65 Discussion ………………………………………………………………..………………… 65 Null Hypotheses ………………………………………………………………….………… 67 Conclusions ………………………………………………………………...………………. 68 Implications …………………………………………………………………………...……. 69 Limitations …………………………………………………………….…………………… 70 8 Recommendations for Future Research ……………………………...…………………….. 70 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 71 9 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Overview The digital platform, though still in its infancy, has progressed from its origin in the post- secondary arena as a way for adults to continue their education while pursuing their careers and maintaining their familial responsibilities. In today’s landscape, digital learning has expanded to touch the lives of students from their early school experiences, through graduation of high school and into college. Due to these early stages of development, there is limited research at the secondary level regarding student performance on standardized tests while attending a full-time virtual school. The field of online learning is gaining momentum as an alternative to the traditional classroom with teachers teaching students in a physical location. Therefore, it is imperative to identify areas of concern that are associated with the change in curriculum delivery
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